Google Launches Siri Killer

Three months after a demonstration that showed off its apparent Siri rival, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) launched its enhanced voice search for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS on Tuesday. Downloadable from the App Store, the program provides contextual, spoken results for voice queries and runs web searches. The service, built for Apple’s mobile devices, mirrors some of the functionality of Google’s search technology native to Android’s Jelly Bean version.

Only available to users on iOS 4.2 or above, early reviews said Google’s technology provided answers quicker than Apple’s Siri. However, it is not able to access native iOS apps in order to schedule appointments, set reminders, or look up contacts. The app is able to use the device’s location. For queries related to location, direction search can be completed through the web version of Google Maps for iOS 6 users or the native Google Maps app for those who have not upgraded to Apple’s new operating system.

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Apple’s Siri, first released as a beta product alongside the iPhone 4S last October, has not had an easy year, getting hit by criticism and even lawsuits for over-promising on its capabilities. Apple announced updates to the program during its developers’ conference in June, with the personal assistant receiving several new integrations, including with OpenTable, Rotten Tomates, Yelp (NYSE:YELP), and sports data. Siri was also programmed to be able to launch apps, update Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) or Twitter, and speak new languages including Spanish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

But as with several other mobile software, the battle of voice-assisted search is on between Google and Apple.

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